The Lapse on our Fate
by JapLietFinSpaHongEst
Summary: He seeks strength. She seeks happiness. Two incomplete people falling in love fill each other's missing parts like an ink to an empty marker. However, when Fate intervenes, nothing, not even the strongest of men, can stop it. When Kamui and Yukiko finally find each other, they feel that everything will be okay. But right from the start, they can't predict the end. (Kamui X OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfiction so, well, yeah. Reviews are warmly welcomed!**

**Warning: OOCness. Too much drama. Amateur writing. Stuff like that. I have warned you.**

**Disclaimer: Gintama belongs to its genius mangaka Sorachi Hideaki-sensei. I only own the plot and OCs of this fanfic.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Even Monsters Have Weaknesses**

* * *

Blood covered his pale hands. With a smile, he slashed down the last guy who was about to punch him, blood splattering all over the place. Then he fixed his eyes on the ground where the men he had fought with lay lifeless. Blood spilled on the ground and splashed on the walls. The dark alley, along with the sea of dead bodies, made it seem like the perfect zombie movie ending scenario, except that instead of zombies, real people were killed and that a bare handed Amanto was the killer.

"Weaklings," Kamui muttered.

The truth was, as much as he loved fighting and beating the daylights out of his opponents, battling with weaklings was a waste of time for him. Engaging them in a battle was worthless. They didn't even made his adrenaline pump. They didn't stand a chance against him.

Without a word he turned his back at the grotesque scene. He didn't look back, nor did he feel guilty about killing them mercilessly. They were responsible for their own deaths. They sought a fight with him and he just complied. They were naïve to think that outnumbering him would do the thing, but he proved them wrong. They got what they deserve. It's their fault for being weak.

He put on his cloak, opened his umbrella and then walked away.

Under his clothes he could feel the heat given off by the sun penetrating, as if frying him to the bone but not really. He strode on, not caring about the glances he was receiving-of interest from the women and of envy from the gents. He let his braided hair flow freely as he passed the streets with a smile on his face, looking harmless as if he had not done a massacre.

All hell broke loose when his stomach grumbled.

For three days he wandered around the streets of Edo with only his umbrella on hand. Abuto was with him for the past two days, but Kamui insisted to be alone. And so, his assistant left him, fearing that his captain might kill him if he didn't.

Kamui reached for his pockets, only to find out that he didn't have one. Usually he would let Abuto handle Earth-related things, but the guy wasn't there. And there he was, standing empty-handedly without any idea on what he'll do.

_"Damn, where is Abuto when I need him?" _he cursed mentally, clutching his stomach that was holding a quite huge war inside-a world war, perhaps.

Kamui felt a poke on his shoulder. He turned to see a black-haired girl in a sakura-patterned kimono, looking at him with her brown eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He smiled half-heartedly. "Am I?" he pointed at himself. "I am."

_No, you're not, _a part of him protested. _You're starving. How could you be alright?_

_Shut up! _He yelled mentally.

"Is that so?" The girl raised an eyebrow. She was wary of the man's response but bought it anyway. "Be careful on your way home, then. And don't space out in the middle of the street. It's weird."

"Yeah," he mumbled. The girl was about to walk away when Kamui reached for her shoulder, stopping her from her tracks. "On the second thought," he said. "I think I'm not alright."

"And why is that?"

_The moment of truth has come._

"I'm hungry," he blurted out.

Silence befell them. Was it really okay for him to tell her that? In Yoshiwara it might be, since he was _well-known _(or rather, feared) there and he was sure the people didn't mind it-they even treat him food. But, he thought, things above Yoshiwara were different-the rules, the way of living, the people. He was never the one to care about relations-he was born for fighting, after all, and all he cared about were fighting and bloodshed-but now he might consider caring about them. _Consider, _take note of that.

Kamui might be the strongest in battlefield, but in human relations (or any forms of relations) he was next to nothing... in the worst.

His internal grumbling halted when the girl chuckled. _Is she mocking me?_ He clenched his fist, ready to knock her off at the moment she would say something nasty.

"Is that so?" the girl said in between her stifled laughter. "I'm on my way to a ramen house now, and it isn't far from here. I'll take you there, if you'd like to."

His blue eyes opened, sparkling like the deep blue sea under the summer heat. Nothing had brought him more delight than food (fighting aside).

"Really?"

The girl nodded. "Shall we go?" she smiled, gesturing to lead the way. Kamui nodded, and the two walked off.

* * *

They stopped at a two-storey building with a wooden sliding door. It looked like the outside of your average ramen houses along the streets, with two unlit lanterns on both sides of the door and a poster hanging at the top, "Ramen" hurriedly written in kanji.

"Here we are," the girl introduced with a smile. She slid the door and entered the house with Kamui following suit. The aroma coming from the cooking area filled the air, making Kamui's stomach grumble more.

"Looking good as always, Wakana-san," the girl said.

A blonde woman who was concentrated on cooking turned her head to them, revealing her slightly wrinkled yet youthful smiling face ( a woman on her twenties, perhaps) and greeted, "Welco-Good day, Yukiko-san."

Yukiko (_so that's her name_) bowed.

"Who is this?" Wakana pointed at Kamui. "Your boyfriend?"

Yukiko shook her head, giving a light chuckle as she and Kamui pulled out a chair and took a seat. "He's just a guy whom I happened to bump into the street. Nothing serious, really."

"'Nothing serious' my foot. Last week the guy with you was a grumpy-looking martial artist from the Yukimura dojo, then a sadistic police man and now what?" Wakana said loudly, her face clouded in the smoke rising from the boiling pot.

Yukiko shrugged. "...A hungry guy who was spacing out in the middle of the street...?"

After switching off the stove, Wakana pulled out a towel and wiped her hands. "Yukiko, you can't just bring with you a stranger you just met on the street," she reprimanded.

"Unless you are a good Samaritan, which happens to be my case today," Yukiko countered. "I can't just leave the poor guy standing there without any idea on what he'll do."

_Bingo_, Kamui thought. _Though I would like it if you hadn't blurted it out._

"Besides, I met Yukimura-san and Okita-san here and happened to chat a little with them while eating," she added.

Wakana sighed in defeat. "Fine, whatever you say, youngster." She propped her elbow on the counter. "Taking the usual?"

Yukiko nodded. "I can't get enough of it," she commented.

The owner turned to Kamui. "And for you?"

Kamui blinked and then scanned the names of the dishes that were pinned on the top of the shelves. "I guess I'll be having..." And thus, he recited the whole menu.

"Are you sure you're gonna have them all?" Kamui nodded like a child being asked to go to a field trip for the first time.

"Okay then." Wakana then headed towards the cooking area.

Yukiko shifted from her seat. "You have quite the big appetite there," she said.

"I do," he answered, placing his hands on the counter. "And since I'm getting food for free, I might as well stuff myself."

She raised an eyebrow. "Who said you're gonna get free food?"

Kamui smiled at her. "It was you who invited me here in the first place, am I right?"

"I did invite you, but I never said I'll be treating you. Your ears might have picked up the wrong message."

"What?" He slammed his hands on the table, almost breaking it. _Almost. _"I followed you because I thought you'll be the one paying for the food."

She crossed her arms. "Well, your hunger has affected your thinking badly. And by badly, I mean _really _badly, as in the 'breaking-your-bones-after-slipping-on-the-floor' type."

Kamui pouted. "You tricked me!" he accused.

"I didn't, dumbass!" she protested. "It was your fault for misunderstanding the whole thing!"

Wakana peeked at the "love birds" quarrelling. "Ah, young love," she whispered to herself, "How sweet."

Yukiko sighed. "Fine," she grunted. "Since hunger made your brain go haywire and I wouldn't want to be blamed when you collapse on the street, I'll be treating you."

Kamui's smile widened and his azure eyes twinkled once again.

"But you'll be paying me later," she added.

"Yes, yes, I'll pay you...someday." He winked at her.

Her face deadpanned. "You're not planning to pay, are you?"

"Who knows?"

* * *

_I was surprised when I reached for your shoulders, but now that I think about it, I'm glad I did._

_- Kamui_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm here again! I would like to thank Kintoki Kin for reviewing the first chapter of this fanfic. I hope I don't disappoint you. :D**

**Reviews are warmly welcomed so review!**

**Warning: OOCness. Too much drama. Weird sense of humor. Stuff like that.**

**Disclaimer: Gintama belongs to its genius mangaka Sorachi Hideaki-sensei. I only own the plot and OCs of this fanfic.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 – There is a Fine Line between Seriously Amusing and Amusingly Serious**

Yukiko sighed heavily. Arguing with this guy was pointless. Why she picked him up on the streets a while ago, she'll never understand. Well, she found it difficult to comprehend herself. She could never fathom why she concerned herself with other people. All she had to do was ignore them, but that usually sent a knot in her stomach, only to be untangled when she was able to at least ask them if they were alright. Just like the case today.

In addition to her predicament was this man's weirdness. His eyes were always closed as if he was blind, and except for their argument, his smile never left his face. She was fine with smiling people (in fact, she likes them), but his smile made her cringe. She found his smile eerie, sinister even, as if plotting everyone's death was his hobby. From a normal point of view, he appeared harmless, but his aura radiated something eerily evil, like an individual who rejoice at the sight of blood pouring around the people he had just hurt, or worse, killed.

Not only that, his skin was too pale—paler than her anemic mother—for a normal person. He also had purple umbrella blocking the sunlight when she approached him. It was perfectly understandable since today was a hot day, but did he fear the sun so much that he had to cover his whole body with those bulky clothing and, at the same time, have an open umbrella with him? Or did he just do that to keep his complexion the way it was?

And his hair, salmon pink in color and braided, was definitely odd. Was this the latest fashion trend for men nowadays? That she'll never know, for she had always been the old-fashioned lady in a house of trendy individuals—preferring simple-patterned traditional kimonos over the short, one-sleeved kimonos that her sisters had. (Not that her parents offer her those, though.)

And then…what was this guy's name? She talked to and argued with him (and even treated him food) without even knowing his name. How weird things could get?

Yukiko cleared her throat. "Can I ask you something?" she began.

"Hmm?" he turned to her.

"I do suppose you know my name, right?"

He shook his head and paused for a moment before laughing. "Just kidding," he said. "Yukiko, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," she agreed then shifted from her seat, facing him. "Since I gave you my name, albeit indirectly, give me yours."

"Kamui," he answered causally, not moving an inch from his seat.

She raised an eyebrow. "Kamui…"

"Kamui."

"No surname?"

He nodded his head. "Just Kamui."

"Well then, I shall address you as Just Kamui-san."

"Just Kamui-san?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Just Kamui-san," she repeated.

Kamui smiled. _This girl is amusing. _If she plans to play a game with him, he will be more than happy to participate. "Is that so?" he mused. "I shall call you Yuki-chan then, yes?"

"But we aren't close."

"Are you sure?"

He picked up and moved his chair, closing its distance with her chair. "Here, we're close now," Kamui said, sitting down.

Her face turned blank. "Yeah right," she uttered. _This guy's sense of literalness is something beyond my reach, _mused Yukiko.

"Says the girl whose sense of literalness is way higher than mine," he retorted.

"Hey! Yours is much higher!" she protested.

He shook his head disapprovingly, frowning. "Yours is."

"Nah, yours is," she insisted. "Who in the right mind would take 'close' as sitting beside each other?"

He faced her, his furrowed eyebrows contradicting his smiling face. "And who in the right mind would call some 'Just XXX' just because they don't have a surname?"

"It was you who told me your full name was 'Just Kamui'!" she claimed. "I can't just call you Kamui, and certainly will I not call you 'Just', so addressing you by your full name should be okay."

"And you say you don't take things literally," he remarked. "How ironic."

She glared at him. _This guy…_

Then a chuckle came from Kamui. "What?" she grumbled.

"Nothing," he denied playfully.

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Sure," he answered.

With that, Yukiko sighed heavily once again.

* * *

Minutes later, the food came. Smoothly and swiftly, Wakana handed Yukiko a bowl of ramen and served Kamui several plates and bowls, all of them filled with freshly cooked mouth-watering dishes, ranging from ramen, chao fan, etc.

Upon setting her eyes on the meal she had to pay, Yukiko felt an urge to cry.

_Don't tell me I have to pay for all of those?_

_Am I dreaming?_

She slapped herself. Not working.

Again.

Still there.

And again.

Still not working. Her right cheek turned red from the numerous slaps she did. However, contrast to what she expected, she was still there, sitting on a chair close to Kamui with a bowl of steaming hot ramen in front of her.

_I guess I'm not._

Reality was, indeed, full of horrors.

* * *

Yukiko tearfully opened her wallet, as if she was facing doom, pulled out a couple of bills (the meal costed ¥xxxxxx) and, with shaky hands, handed them to Wakana.

Yukiko was about to walk away when Wakana gripped her shoulder.

"Yes, Wakana-san?" she asked, her eyes gloomy and her eyebrows furrowed.

"That man is the one for you," Wakana whispered, winking to Yukiko.

Yukiko's eyes widened. "You're kidding, Wakana-san."

"Am not, Yukiko." Wakana waved her index finger, shaking her head. "Been one of the best love fortune tellers ever since then…"

Yukiko excused herself from Wakana's probably long story (or rant, whichever you prefer) and then walked away. At a distance, she heard Wakana say, "Bring that guy with you here sometime."

_You just want profit, _she grumbled inside.

"She's right, Yuki-chan," said Kamui, leaning his back on the wall and his leg blocking the way out. "Let's go here sometime."

"Nah," she skipped from his leg. "I don't want to end up broke."

Kamui pouted, rushing to Yukiko's side. He placed his umbrella under them, shielding them against the sun's striking heat. "It's hot, no?"

"Yeah," Yukiko groaned.

"You alright?" inquired Kamui, bending to get a clear view of Yukiko's face.

"I'm broke. How could I be alright?" answered Yukiko, glowering at Kamui.

"I told you I'll reimburse you someday."

Yukiko snorted. "As if that will happen."

"You don't trust me," Kamui said, dramatically clutching his chest and faking sobs. "I'm hurt."

"I'm the one who's hurt here!" Yukiko complained. Then she took a deep breath. "How you survived in the streets by yourself with that big appetite of yours, I shall never know."

"I had a companion with me when I came here," he said, kicking the sand beneath his feet.

Yukiko turned to Kamui. "And I assume he got tired of you so he left you here?"

"Quite the opposite actually," he said. "I was the one who drove him away."

"And he complied happily?"

"More like fearfully."

"I'm not surprised," she remarked. "That sinister smile of yours gives way to fear."

"Mean." He moped.

Yukiko shook her head. "I'm not mean. I'm plainly telling the truth."

"It hurts."

"Blame truth for being painful."

"Can I kill it?"

"Not even the strongest man can kill it. You can alter, escape from, deny, laugh at or scorn it—you can practically do anything about it—but you can never kill it. It exists since the ages," Yukiko explained.

"You said I can practically do anything about it, didn't you?" Kamui asked.

Yukiko nodded her head and regretted it later.

"Then…" Kamui began.

He took a deep breath.

"I HATE YOU, TRUTH!" he screamed.

All eyes were on the two of them. Kamui had a satisfied smile on his face, seemingly unaware of the weird stares they're receiving from the people around. A mother told her child not to look at them when the little child asked what they (Yukiko and Kamui) were doing. The women sitting by the glass window of the cake shop giggled behind their colorful, intricately designed fans. One man spat on his drink.

Yukiko could only sigh and rub her temples in deep shame.

"Kamui-san, aren't you taking this a little too literally?" she asked.

"But it is seriously amusing!" Kamui said, a big smile plastered on his face as if he had successfully pulled off a prank on someone for the first time.

"And you're being amusingly serious about this," Yukiko said.

"Is that a compliment?" Kamui asked.

"Who says that's a compliment?" Yukiko said, walking away. She paused before tossing her wallet to Kamui, who caught it like a professional baseball player.

"Take that as a souvenir of your stay here," she said.

But when Kamui opened it, there were a couple of coins inside. He smiled.

"And you say we aren't close."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! It has been a long time since I have written an update. My excuses? Graduation, College Reservation, stuff. To those who had waited for this chapter (I hope there are *crosses fingers*), here you go!**

**Warning: OOCness. Too much drama. Amateur writing. Stuff like that. I have warned you.**

**Disclaimer: Gintama belongs to its genius mangaka Sorachi Hideaki-sensei. I only own the plot and OCs of this fanfic.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: E****veryone's in Pursuit of Happiness**

When Kamui said a couple of coins, he meant very few coins but enough to cover the pebbles underneath them, which he found out as soon as he dug the purse Yukiko tossed to him. Now he knew why the purse weighed quite heavy when he caught it.

His smile widened as he tried his best to hide his laughter (and was successful in doing so). After all they had been through, he could now conclude that Yukiko was, without a doubt, an amusing fellow. Her "way of things"—her humor, thinking and movements—proved to be weird, but in a good way. Sending pebbles to people as souvenir, really? It was silly, yes, but it amused him to nowhere.

Though the pebbles shining underneath the sun's light were a rare, beautiful sight to behold, Kamui did not see them as of any use aside from their beauty (which Kamui did not need as for the moment).

He wanted to ask her, 'Why did you give this to me?', 'Who are you kidding?', 'Did you hit your head or something?' or 'How did you know I'm not from this place?'. Despite not caring about anything aside from food and fighting, Kamui was a naturally curious person (or Amanto). And he, being the curious guy he was, wanted his curiosity, his thirst for answers, be quenched.

Soon, he found his feet running to find her, to find the answers to his bottomless pit of unanswered questions. He jostled among the crowd, occasionally bumping into people but not bothering to apologize to them. The sun's heat was beating him up and he might have dried up, at best, or die, at worst, was it not for the clusters of taller people blocking the sun's rays for him, a thing he was rather thankful of.

He was able to catch her figure across the street, but he was stopped when the lights turned red. When the lights turned green, signaling GO, Kamui ran as fast as he could, a small smile plastered on his face. He could feel slight nostalgia as he drew closer to her. Somehow, approaching her now felt like the first time he did this except that when he finally caught her by the shoulder, she had greeted him casually, as if not surprised when he ran off for her.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

He lifted his hand with the purse lying on his palm.

She raised an eyebrow.

He drew it closer to her.

"Didn't I give that to you?" Confusion was written all over her face, along with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"Yes," he answered, "but what are the pebbles for?"

"Souvenir," she answered flatly.

Kamui raised an eyebrow. "Souvenir?"

"Souvenir," Yukiko repeated and then furrowed her eyebrows. "Gosh, can't you tell?"

Yukiko continued walking. Kamui tailed over her. The two moved forward silently for a while. Yukiko's arms were crossed and her eyes darted elsewhere, refusing to meet Kamui's blue eyes that were trying to make eye contact with hers. Now that they were in an open space with no crowds, Kamui opened his umbrella and scooted closer to Yukiko, sheltering them both under his umbrella. They looked like a couple who were about to break up after being in a romantic relationship for a long time (at least, in the eyes of the people looking at them).

"Hey," Kamui called.

"Yeah?" Yukiko answered, still not looking at him.

"Why pebbles?"

"Why not?" Yukiko shrugged her shoulders. "It's rare to find those pretty pebbles in this city, you know?"

Yukiko stopped from her tracks, Kamui following suit. She turned her head to kids playing piko near the opening of an alley diagonally across them.

"Besides, desperate times call for desperate measures, if you know what I mean," she added, gesturing 'as-a-matter-of-fact', while her eyes stared at the kids.

"Is that so?"

"That's basically it, Kamui-san," she affirmed and then continued walking with Kamui on her side.

"You called me Kamui-san," he said, pausing from walking.

She stopped from her tracks. "Well," she cleared her throat, "_Just Kamui-san._ My bad."

The two walked side by side, a heavy blanket of awkward silence between them. Neither of them spoke. Yukiko let her eyes wander on the buildings and houses and the people walking around under their fancy umbrellas, fiddling her fingers. She was usually a talkative person, but for now she did not have the interest in speaking up.

Awkward silences had never failed to irritate Kamui ever since then. Silences make the atmosphere dull and boring that it made him want to hide in a hole for the rest of his life.

And boredom was one of the things Kamui hated the most. He didn't like it when his opponents were too easy to kill. It was boring and was such a waste of time, indeed, especially when he should have been searching for the strongest ones instead of battling those fools who were willing to throw their lives away for the sake of some weak principles.

Kamui and Yukiko strode on, letting their feet take them wherever they wanted to, not looking forward and probably not caring where their feet would take them. Probably, that is, until they had reached a dead end.

Yukiko face-palmed, sighing audibly. On the other hand, the smile on Kamui's face remained unfazed, though he gripped his umbrella tighter.

"The hell's happening with this day?" Yukiko mumbled to herself, rubbing her temples. "I just wanted a normal day-out from our rowdy house and this is the thing I get."

She turned her head to Kamui, glaring at him and mentally cursing him with all of her might for a split second, and then said, "Let's head back."

Kamui only nodded in response.

When they turned around, brute-looking men in ragged clothing-torn sleeves, worn-out pants, almost broken slippers-came into their sight, wide-eyed with their mouths agape.

"Hey, do you think they?" one guy, his spiky hair dyed in neon green, whispered to the other guy, a bald guy who had two piercings on his nose.

"Who knows?" the bald guy answered, his voice quivering, as if the dirty secret he and his friend were hiding for a long time was slowly being revealed.

The whispers grew louder and soon, the guy in the middle, wearing a gray kimono top with torn sleeves and gray pants, with his brown Mohawk hair in all of his glory, spoke:

"What are you two doing here?"

Yukiko blinked her eyes. "Er...Wandering around until we got lost…?" she responded, shrugging her shoulders.

Kamui elbowed her, whispering, "That was one hell of a good excuse, Yuki-chan."

Yukiko narrowed her eyes at him, eyebrows furrowed, and retorted in a whisper, "As if you could come up with a better one, Kamui-san."

"You called me Kamui-san."

Yukiko sighed. "_Just Kamui-san_," she grunted, "excuse me for not remembering your oh-so precious name."

"No, I'm fine with Kamui-san," he responded softly, shaking his head. "At least I know we're close now."

Their conversation halted when the Mohawk guy's voice boomed: "Are you listening, you bastards?"

Sweat beads started to form in her temples. Her body shook as she answered, her voice quivering, "Why, of course we are..."

She turned her head to Kamui, "...right?"

Kamui nodded his head.

"Oh yeah?"

Yukiko nodded slowly, forcing a smile on her face.

The orange Mohawk-haired guy, with tattered jeans and ripped denim jacket, whispered quite audibly to the Mohawk guy in the middle:

"They're lying."

The Mohawk guy eyed them and, seeing them mouth 'What did the guy say?' and 'Do I look like I'm listening to them?', answered the guy, "You're right." He turned to his comrades and commanded: "Just kill them."

The guys charged at them, bearing swords and daggers at their hands. "Shit!" Yukiko cursed, dodging the guy who charged at her. She took out her dagger from the sleeves of her kimono and jumped behind him, stabbing him on the nape of his neck. After landing her feet on the ground, another guy came at her. She kicked him off his feet and, as he lost his balance, she slashed his throat. More and more guys charged, which meant more kicking, stabbing the nape of their necks and slitting throats.

Blood covered her hands, and she didn't like it.

Not one bit.

Kamui, on the other hand, singlehandedly took the other guys, slashing through their guts like a whirlwind of cutters. The guys fell dead on the ground, blood pouring out of their bodies in a sickening way. Yukiko almost puked at what she had seen.

"Do you have to be so… brutal?" she asked Kamui, covering her mouth and grimacing at the sight.

"That's how I fight," he answered, licking the blood that splashed at the side of his face. Yukiko grimaced more. "Don't like it?"

"Who in the world would actually like it?"

She sheathed her dagger and put it back on the sleeve of her kimono.

As soon as Kamui put on his cloak, the two walked off the gross scene and found themselves walking along a river bank.

Yukiko stopped from her tracks and bent down to the water to wash her bloodied hands. She did the same to her bloodstained dagger.

"It's such a shame to dirty this river with blood, don't you think?" she muttered, her hands pouring water to the dagger. Only silence answered her.

Kamui had never thought of cleaning himself after a bloody battle. To him, the red stains brought by a fight were mere proofs of fighting, their worth measured by the strength of his opponent.

I'll never understand these Earthlings, he thought.

The sky had turned orange in color as the sun slowly crawled down to its realm. The river reflected the same fiery color, making the blood less noticeable in it. The hot winds had calmed down, turning into a slighter cooler one. Crows started creating noises as the place gradually got darker, from pure orange to purple with a touch of orange.

He watched her wipe the wet dagger with a pink handkerchief, its blade reflecting the reddish color of the surroundings. After that, she placed the dagger back to its place-sheathed on the right sleeve of her kimono.

Yukiko stood up from her place and said, "I guess I should be going now."

"Wait."

Why did I stop her?

"Yes?"

She blinked at him with those beautiful brown eyes.

"Just...who are you?" he asked.

Yukiko faced him with a smile-not an annoyed one, not a mocking one, and certainly not a condescending one-and answered, "I'm just someone who's in search of happiness, just like everyone else."

Then, she raised an eyebrow, her smile not leaving her face. "And you?"

Kamui chuckled before answering, "I'm on a quest to find and defeat the strongest person alive."

"Is that so?" she laughed. "Well, I guess I'll see you again."

Yukiko turned her heel to him and left, waving her hand to him without looking back. Kamui waved back at her, watching as her figure slowly disappeared into the darkness.

When he put his hand down, he stared at it as he mumbled, "I'll see you again, huh?"

Kamui soon lifted his feet and started walking home, watching the night sky as the stars began to appear one by one.


End file.
